Page 212 - Beyond Methods

200 Activating intuitive heuristics
8.1.4 Having been told repeatedly that the present progressive is used to describe an action in progress, L2 learners of English, at least at the initial level of grammar learning, wonder why a sentence like I am leaving for Washington tomorrow is considered grammatically cor- rect. Think about ways of helping them reflect on the connection be- tween the present progressive and future time reference.
8.1.5 Read the following:
We all know that the present continuous tense is used to describe actions that are taking place now. However, native speakers do not use this tense to describe people’s actions all the time. We don’t spend our time saying “Look. I’m opening the door. I’m drinking a cup of tea . . . etc.” That’s not how we use the present continuous. We actually use it when there is some point, some value in com- menting on people’s actions. So we might ring home and say “Oh, what’s John doing at the moment?” It’s a reasonable question since we can’t see him and don’t know the answer to the question.
(Data source: Harmer, 1991, p. 56)
Think of a couple of other scenarios in which present progressive can be used in a communicatively appropriate sense. Having told your stu- dents that the present progressive is used to describe an action in progress, how would you help them understand the absurdity of a sen- tence like Look, I’m opening the door? In other words, how would you help them connect communicative appropriateness with grammatical correctness in this particular grammatical context?
8.1.6 A general rule prevents the use of the present progressive in English with stative verbs such as see, love, etc. However, read the fol- lowing:
For example, the following verb form would appear to violate a rule in English which says the -ing of the progressive aspect cannot be attached to a stative verb such as love:
I am loving every minute of my class.
And yet, most English speakers would agree that combining the progressive aspect with a stative verb, as has been done in this ex- ample, accomplishes the special effect of intensifying the emotion expressed by the verb, which makes it at least conversationally ac- ceptable, and meaningful, in English.
(Data source: Larsen Freeman, 2000, p. 10)
Write down a few more examples of this kind. If, as per the pre- scriptive rules of English grammar, the -ing of the progressive aspect cannot be attached to a stative verb, how would you explain what is